​In this collection of verses and rhymes, Michael Vito Tosto (author of Portrait of an Infidel and The Offbeat Rhythms) brings his quirky yet haunted view of life and reality to the genre of poetry. Ranging from poignant philosophical statements to the most absurd of nonsensical psychedelia, these poems are a profound and enjoyable commentary about the beautiful and often perplexing world we live in. A master of rhythm and an expert wordsmith, Tosto brings his heart to In Absentia, and the end result is yet another exercise in the existential dance between agony and ecstasy.

"Existential Bullshit"I wonder why the ceiling is talking to the wall?I’ve got this funny feeling that I’m not here at all.I wonder why the windows are closing in on me?It seems like space is empty, or filled with tragedy.I wonder why the lamppost is laughing at the door?Is it closed, or open? Is that blood on the floor?I wonder why the darkness is treating with the light?I’ve got this strange sensation that I might die tonight.I wonder if that’s true, or perhaps more frightening still,Is the patent possibility that life comes from a pill.I wonder if death is natural, or part of the system’s game?Life nor death really matterswhen joy is gleaned from shame.I wonder if the serpent issued forth from God?I wonder if the garden was part of God’s façade?I wonder if the apple was really on the tree?Was it an illusion, or was it reality?Perhaps the bigger question,and one that makes me tremble,Is “Who’s that in my mirror?”What face does that resemble?The truth about the garden, about the snake, and about the fruit,Is that they’re one and the same:three minds with one name,Three answers under one pursuit.I wonder why the alcohol is slipping through the cracksWhen there’s no one there to drink it, and thus consider these indelible facts. ​